MJL

I've been seriously contemplating on getting that reel myself...For me reels in the 4" to 4.25" size feel much more comfortable to use - Already have a 4" Milner Kingfisher, 3 7/8" Kingpin or another new 4" Angspec on my 'new toy' shortlist The Greys centrepin isn't a very popular reel anywhere (Europe or North America). I've been having a hard time finding reviews and info about it myself. You may have better luck getting info on British match fishing forums or British carp fishing forums about this reel. A quick google search should come up with many.

Congrats to you Steve and Kelli! All the best

2 years ago on one of my carp fishing sessions in the Kawarthas I witnessed a huge 33lb muskie caught from shore in a fairly small Kawartha lake – The angler was fishing for walleyes at the time using a Rapala. Really amazed at how a fish like that could come from such a lake – I would imagine it would have to be an incredibly old fish or it somehow migrated from another lake through the locks. It was weighed on 2 different scales that other anglers there had (1 digital and 1 dial) and kept by the angler to be mounted. That was the biggest musky I've ever seen before in person.

Do I need one? Not anymore! Ladies in hip waders aerializing 65ft of fly line or running down chrome steelhead in fast water has to be the hottest thing to look at out there…It wouldn’t be my fault either if they’re impressed with the size and action of my rod.

I own a couple west coast baitcasting outfits (old Shimano Convergence rods + old Abus) but I rarely use them beyond the pier when I’m float fishing for the chinnies. I tried them a few times upstream in winter (even caught a couple nice fish) but I think the grease packed inside the reels made the free-spool option a little too sticky and I ended up having to pay line out by hand. 2 of the older guys I fish with at one of my local rivers (Now in their 60’s-70’s) switched over to using baitcasters instead of the pin…For them they had pain issues with their hands and arms when holding a float reel in the cold. Both got custom float rods made with the spiral guide setup. For me variety is the spice of life. I love using my centrepins but equally enjoy swinging flies with the fly rod or tossing spinners and Kwikfish on my short 7ft medium spinning rods. Many times I lug 2 outfits (1 float rod, + 1 7’ spinning) around with me on days when I have the river to myself.

Ditto Check the Classifieds on various message boards. Even Craigslist and Kijiji have gear for sale. You can pick up a used Islander or Tourney Drifter for around $200 when you can find them. Aurora Barrington was a decent reel which was around $200 brand new but haven't seen them for quite some time. Lots of good deals to be had.

Done! Go Canada!

When I was a kid and I couldn’t get out on the weekend, I’d wake up at 6:30am to watch: In-Fisherman, Fishin’ Canada, Canadian Sports-fishing, Real Fishing, Going Fishing, Bill Dance, Roland martin + more till lunch time. Also enjoyed the odd episode of FishTV with Leo and Steve and really like Shaun Rickard’s urban outdoor adventure. I used to tape shows if they were about carp or steelhead. I was a huge Italo and Henry fan back in the day because they fished for so many different species in different ways…Then they hit up Bronte and the Trent… I stopped watching fishing shows now…a lot of material seems rehashed from season to season and even episode to episode…How many different ways can Italo catch BOQ walleye using tail-dancers or Chronzey catching northern walleye using Gulp minnows on jig heads? For me I’m more interested in learning new stuff to try out in my own fishing. I don't have WFN and haven't seen Dave Mercer's or JP's shows but they sound really informative. Might buy the DVD's when/if they ever come out.

Really interested in going myself too – I’ve been jonesing for a trip there for quite some time. Back in 2007 I was so close to going to my uncle’s fishing cottage near Bella Coolla near the Dean – unfortunately he couldn’t get time off from work for a couple weeks. You can try asking the folks on the Fish BC forum. Great bunch of people there too and they gave me great tips for when I eventually make my way out there. From my own research, I can echo what Dave said about licences…Fishing the Dean was going to cost me big

I thought you were supposed to play dead when approached by a bear If I leave a case of beer next to me, you think ole smokey will take that instead of me

Really cool thread. I love fishing long sessions pretty far away from home…Can’t get enough of it. Unfortunately for me I usually don’t have access to a vehicle on a regular basis to do it as much as I would like. I drive either a Honda Civic or an Accord depending on which one is still in the garage when I need it. Some things I’ve done in the past beyond staying in a motel include (but aren’t limited to) – Ranked in order of comfort (at least to me): 1. Sleeping on a bedchair beneath a giant umbrella (both designed for carp fishing) 2. Camping in a tent + foam pad + sleeping bag on a campsite 3. Hammock between 2 trees by the lake 4. In a floating canoe – That was awesome (tied to shore of course) 5. Reclined car passenger seat 6. Park bench or picnic table like a hobo 7. The floor of a concrete pier with a backpack as a pillow – The earwigs and potato bugs also liked that too 8. Sleeping on a low hanging branch of a maple tree I’ve been rained on a few times while sleeping outside without a shelter but I usually have rain gear on anyway and crawl into the fetal position and cover my face (The weather girl was so wrong on those days ). I always get the best sleep when I’m outside for some reason – Even better than when I stay in motels. Cool links Splashhopper, Gotta get me a van ASAP

Nicely done RF...Beautiful pieces of chrome there

Carp can be caught year round especially near warm water outflows and areas that don’t freeze over during winter – some people even catch them through the ice by accident. Fall can be a great time to fish for carp. I remember having stellar sessions in the Kawarthas a few days just before Halloween and good fishing around Toronto well into November. The Hamilton guys seem to be hauling them out year round in some places. In most places I fish I generally cut down on the amount of bait I chum with and switch to baits with more protein in them (Like boilies). In the fall I’m usually trying for the absolute biggest fish I can get my hands on though (30-40+lbers) – Maize will still work but I find it less effective in the fall than in spring/summer. If you don’t have problems with gobies or bullheads (probably won’t if the water’s cold enough), sweetcorn from a can also works well. Carp usually have the feedbag going on hard in the fall...The hardest part is trying to get them off of whatever natural food supply they’re currently eating to take your bait – Often times you can see them passing zebra mussel shells or coughing up crayfish parts in the net. I caught a few carp in the past which were coughing up large shiners. Locate some deeper areas, channels or drop-offs (relative to the body of water you’re fishing) and you should be able to get into some carp. Hope this helps

Hey Fidel Gary is back in the biz. For now it looks like 11'6" is the longest salmon/steelhead blank in his lineup http://www.northforkcomposites.com/nfc_catalogv1.04.pdf

Say it ain’t so…Maybe you got the dud blank built on a Monday and Steel28 and I got the ones built on Wednesday Check your PM box Mike

Mike which model Diamondback did you use? Did it say "Diamondback by Angling Specialties" on the blank? The time I built my first ever Diamondback float rod, I shot an e-mail to Diamondback about the history of this blank and it was determined that there are 2-3 different (maybe more) 13'6" models (all 3 piece but colours range from a light brown to red (which is the one I have). The line rating on mine is 4-10lb while I have seen others rated at 4-8lb and 6-8lb. According to George at the Scarborough AngSpec store, the Diamondback float rod blanks that they sell were based on the GSH 1136-3 taper as they were unsure whether or not Sage would continue to build that particular blank for them in the future.

No need to worry...You've got your zodiacs all mixed up. 2005 was the year of the chicken, 2008 was the year of the rat and 2009 is the year of the Ox...No noodle sign to speak of...With that said, 2013 might not be the year for your snakes

Hard to go wrong with a Raven IM8. A great performing rod at a pretty good price ($200-$250 depending on whether you get sliding rings or a reel seat). As others have said, the Aventa might not be the right rod for you. It has a slow/sloppy feeling more akin to rods of the 80's and early 90's which were designed to handle ultra-lite leaders and mainlines. Definitely better rods out there to choose from for this day and age. Hey Fidel Most blanks nowadays are lighter and crisper than the GSH 1136-3.LOL That blank was developed back in the early 90's and is based on the old RP taper. It's a beautiful rod nonetheless with a pretty sweet action. If you like the feel of the Sage, play around with the 13'6" Diamondback that Tom had custom made for him (It's a private label blank). It still has the same moderate/parabolic action but it's lighter, less tip heavy with a crisper action than the Sage - Only thing is I'm not sure what the warranty is like. I absolutely love mine.

You are right Shimano bought Loomis back in 1997. With that said, G. Loomis still manufactures their rods in the USA. Gary Loomis is now operating his new company 'North Fork Composites' and is pumping out blanks only (from what I can tell). Really interested in seeing if he'll do float rod blanks for the great-lakes in the near future.

Great report Louis. Way to spend a weekend. Great pics too

Loomis GLX rods are made in Washington state US. You may be confused about the Frontier line of rods that Loomis Canada (now defunct) were building and selling in Canada a couple years ago. The Frontier blanks (Made by Batson Enterprises - Rainshadow) were made in Asia. As far as I know, all G. Loomis rods are made in the USA.

Beads aren't anything new. I have one friend who was a fly fishing guide up in Alaska for a couple summers and he swears by them for the resident rainbows there. Guides often have whole tackle boxes dedicated to just storing beads in different colours. Most of the time he paints them with nail polish just to get them to look exactly like the eggs at different stages of their life cycle. According to my friend, often times having the wrong coloured beads can mean catching 10-20 rainbows per day for the clients you're guiding VS 60-70 rainbows for the clients the other guides are taking out on the same day and same stretch of river.

Well done Tibbs. Congrats on a fine catch

Scratches in the paint of the rod blank will not compromise the structural integrity of the rod. Raw unpainted graphite is a durable and fairly scratch resistant material by itself. On the last rod I built, I actually took an exacto knife to a second hand float rod blank I got and rebuilt it as a mostly unfinished blank. You can see the difference between the old paint job (red) and natural graphite I left some paint at the ferrules on the mid and tip section If you’re worried about the cosmetic look of the blank, you can try polishing them out as J ace recommended. I have used a silver polish on gloss painted rods called “Flitz” and it has taken out small surface scratches – Clean up with soapy water and finish off with Pledge furniture polish or a car wax. I’ve had mixed results using this method so it’s best to try it on a small portion of the blank first before you go a head and do the whole rod. Only works for gloss painted rods. If you want to fill in the scratches by refinishing the paint job, you can try a light rod building finish. Trondak U40 makes one called Permagloss which was designed as a clear coat for rods. I’ve used this in the past to put a clear finish on blanks. It is considerably lighter than the regular 2 part rod building epoxies designed for finishing guides (even lighter than the ‘Lite’ versions of epoxy). Use Permagloss in a well ventilated room as the fumes are INSANE. Unlike normal 2-part epoxies, you gotta work fast with Permagloss as it sets up almost instantly. My friends also use spray paints designed for cars without problems when they want to re-paint or re-finish their rods – When they do this they strip off all the guides and ferrule wraps and do the whole blank. The idea is that whatever finish you put on the blank should remain flexible at all ‘fishable’ temperatures or the finish may eventually crack up on you over time. I have no experience with the FixItPro product you mentioned. Hope this helps

I found out my nothing box has fishing stuff in it along with a few fish porn mags